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~how i'm feeling~

Empathy. It's one of the traits that make us distinctly human. It's what makes people like us.

Much like making friends, empathizing is also how writers get their readers to root for the protagonist. Take Nea, for example. Reading "Saving Sourdi," we as readers are intentionally left in the oblivion of Sourdi's true situation--much like Nea is. Unlike the dramatic irony, in which our knowledge goes beyond the protagonist's, Chai uses mystery as an unexpected element to fully understand what characters feel. Or in writing our power paragraphs, our perception of Judd Mulvaney's personality and thoughts was so clear--just from a single page. Because instead of just describing Judd as a mature thinker, we're allowed into his mind to see how he thinks. "ONEtwothree. ONEtwothree." Those aren't typically the things that run through children's' thoughts. We'll only believe the extent of his deep personality until we see it explicitly.

Despite empathy being one of the staple traits of being human, I have to admit that it is one of my greatest weaknesses. The only bit of wisdom I can provide is that most of the time, we don't want solutions; we just want someone to listen. The more I deal with these situations, I've realized that people just want others to know how they feel. We crave to share our thoughts and feel less alone in doing so. And although I know this simple fact, I often still feel helpless when it comes to other people's feelings; so, if you have any suggestions on how you empathize with others, please let me know.

Comments

  1. KatieOctober 7, 2020 at 9:04 AM

    I really enjoyed reading this Sabrina! Your line, "we don't want solutions; we just want someone to listen" is so important. I've had similar thoughts this week about the power of empathy and also how difficult it is to practice it.

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